Burns and Havlat leasing HP suites for others, a Tillman tribute — and a few words from @BizNasty2point0

Notes and quotes as the opening night faceoff gets closer here in San Jose.

*****– Brent Burns and Marty Havlat have each leased an HP Pavilion suite to provide access to community organizations and others who might not otherwise get to games.

Marty Havlat’s suite will be available to various Bay Area groups that support the underprivileged or those with serious illnesses, but Brent Burns is continuing the “Burnzie’s Battalion” tradition he started with the Minnesota Wild and inviting members of the military and their families.

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“It’s an easy thing to give back to them,” Burns said after Saturday’s morning skate. “Hopefully, whether it’s a mom or dad bringing the family out, or a brother or sister, just to get their mind away from what they’re going through and a fun night away and come meet some hockey guys.”

Burns said that starting his own family as a hockey player helped put into focus what those in the military must go through, even if his situation doesn’t compare to what military families go through on a much larger scale.

“It’s easy for us to get traded or go on the road for 15 days. It’s always the family back home that’s kind of lost and not knowing what to do,” he said. “They can leave up to a year, maybe longer. It’s incredible what they do,” he said.

Havlat also provided suite access at the Xcel Energy Center when he was with the Wild.

“It’s great to give kids who normally would not be able to come to games a chance to see us play,” said Havlat in a statement released by the team. “I always enjoy looking up and seeing a full suite of people enjoying themselves.”

A native of San Jose native, Tillman had a stellar football career at Arizona State and with the Phoenix Cardinals before he was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan after enlisting in the Army following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

LaBarbara said “the respect factor” prompted his decision to use Tillman as part of the design.

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“He gave up the one thing he worked his whole life for and did what he thought was the right thing to do,” the goalie said. “Not many people can say that. It’s a pretty special thing.”

*****Tonight’s game will be Dan Rusanowsky’s 1,500th behind the microphone as the Sharks radio voice. Rusanowsky has been the team’s play-by-play announcer since the franchise’s inception and the only games he missed were after a November, 25, 2000, auto accident in which he was seriously injured.

*****Finally, the Phoenix lineup today will include rugged left wing Paul Bissonnette, better known in the Twitter universe as @BizNasty2point0.

Bissonnette’s Tweets sharing events from his summertime party-hearty lifestyle have attracted more than 144,000 followers and quite the reputation.

Things should be — at least temporarily — a little tamer now that the season is starting, Bissonnette told me today.

“I’m not really partying much during the season, but in the summertime when I get out there it’s going to get obnoxious with Twitter,” said Bissonnette, who is following league rules limiting Twitter activity on game day.

“It’s the environment you’re in,” he said. “At the start of the summer I was having fun when I was out in LA, but now I’m just trying to get focused (on hockey). You’ve got to be able to separate the two.”

To a degree at least.

“Saturday night home game and we win and we get the day off Sunday, I might go out for a few pops and get up to my old antics,” he said. “But for the most part I’ll be pretty tame during the season, especially after they rewarded me with a nice contract extension.”

And no, he said, there’s no Twitter clause in that new deal.

“I think I’m misunderstood because I’m such a mess on Twitter. It’s just my thoughts,” he said. “But as far as a professional standpoint, when it comes time to train, I do.”

David Pollak

David Pollak has been following the NHL forever and at the Mercury News as an editor or reporter since 1987. For almost a decade he wrote about the Sharks as the paper's Fan in the Stands before joining the sports department in 2001. He became the Sharks beat writer before the 2007-08 season and began this blog at that time. You can also follow him on Twitter at @PollakOnSharks.

Seems odd to put a profile of a football player/GI as a hockey goalie unless you were friends. Kinda cheesy jumping on bandwagon of what a “hero” he was for giving up. Football to invade another country only to be killed by his fellow invaders.

SD Sharkfan

Icehawkey, a hero is a hero no matter what sport they played or didn’t play. Pat Tillman is an American Patriot.

GP

Wow ice hawkey…it’s all can do to not go off… please go pick a better country.

GP

If someone wants to honor an American like Tillman in that way, I’ll back him no matter what. There’s no cheese no bandwagon. All I see is honor and respect and it’s great that someone remembers the fallen — even on a goalie mask.

I hate to ask what you have on your goalie mask. What I picture is vulgar, so I won’t ask.

Stacy

Wow. That’s amazing of them! Very impressed! Burns and Havlat making the “old” sharks look “bad”, time to step your charity game up! Or has any other Shark done this before?

Buddy Elf

Stacy:

Does the fact that the new Sharks haven’t donated to roller hockey rinks make them look bad, just because Pavs did that?

I am sure most donate, they just have different ways of doing it… it doesn’t make it worse just because it’s less newsworthy when they do it.

Shark Fin

So…

It’s great that someone honors Pat Tillman on their goalie helmet. Awesome!

It’s fantastic that Burns and Havlat do what they do to support families and causes that they find worthy.

icehawkey, you really have no clue why you’re able to have your opinion do you. I rest my case.

GP

Stacy,

Marleau does huge amounts of charity in the San Jose area. A couple years ago he was honored as such — I don’t remember the title of the honor.

Most good people, and might be famous athletes, donate humbly when they can without looking for accolades.

Colin Ware

Is it my imagination but looking at the pic of the new Winnipeg Arena it looks like a clone of the HP Pavillion. Good for them making an arena where the cheap seats are not at 25,000 feet like Staples…